San Diego Spring Salad with Society Garlic Flowers

Spring is here in San Diego. I love this time of year because our local farms are bursting with delicious fresh produce. This San Diego Spring Salad with Society Garlic flowers plays with color, texture, and shape. All produce was grown locally in San Diego.

This salad is a composed salad (as opposed to a tossed salad). As chef, you will tap into your artistic side. Working with color, texture, and shape, you will compose your own salad.

The salad base consists of a mix of lettuces, including Little Gem, Red Sails, and Romaine. Additional ingredients include thinly-sliced purple beets, crinkle-cut gold beets, asparagus, fava beans, julienned fennel and radishes, sliced strawberries, and halved medium-boiled eggs. The composed salad is finished with a red wine vinaigrette. The salad is garnished with fresh mint leaves, chiffonade basil, fennel fronds, and Society Garlic flowers. 

I discovered Society Garlic at Chino Farms in Rancho Santa Fe, California. The flowers and stems are both edible. The blossoms have a sweet peppery taste and a subtle garlicky flavor that does not overpower the salad. The taste of the stems is a cross between chives and garlic. The name “Society Garlic” comes from the fact that it does not leave a heavy garlic scent on one’s breath. Thus, it is acceptable to eat while in Society.

Ingredients:

For the Vinaigrette

1small shallot, finely diced

3 T red wine vinegar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

6 T mild extra-virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

For the Salad

4 C salad greens, such as Little Gem, Red Flag, and Romaine

1 purple beet, thinly sliced

1 gold beet, crinkle-cut

3 baby radishes, trimmed and thinly julienned

1medium fennel bulb, cored, and thinly julienned

1bunch asparagus, trimmed, blanched, and cooled 

½ C fava beans, shucked, blanched, peeled, and cooled

4 eggs, boiled for 7 to 8 minutes, then cooled, peeled, and halved

½ C mixed herbs, such as basil, mint, and fennel fronds

Society Garlic flowers 

Method:

Make the vinaigrette: add shallots to red wine vinegar and let sit for 15 minutes. This allows the shallot flavor to mellow. Mix in Dijon mustard. Slowly whisk in extra virgin olive oil until the vinaigrette is emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Compose the salad: arrange salad greens on your serving platter. Add beets, radishes, fennel, asparagus, fava beans, and eggs. Top with vinaigrette and garnish with mixed herbs and Society Garlic flowers.

Notes:

For the fava beans, remove the beans from their pods. Shell them by first snapping off the stem and pulling away the tough string on the side of the pod. Then, pop each pod open by pressing your thumbnails along its seam. The skin that covers each shelled bean must be removed before eating, as it is tough and bitter tasting. To remove the skins, drop the shelled beans into a pot of boiling water and plunge for 1 to 2 minutes, then blanch the shelled beans in an ice bath.

For the asparagus, trim the ends. Since you are using young, thin asparagus, there is no need to peel the stalks. Drop the trimmed asparagus into a pot of boiling water and plunge for 1 to 2 minutes, then blanch the asparagus in an ice bath.

For the beets, wrap each beat in foil and bake at 400° F for one hour. Cool in an ice bath. Remove the skin under running cold water.

You may substitute nasturtiums for Society Garlic flowers.